Do You Still Make New Year’s Resolutions?

Just like the spoon full of black-eyed peas I force down every year for good luck, I’ve always made a half-hearted attempt at a few New Year’s resolutions. For me, these resolutions have been your typical self-improvement goals like “lose weight”. And like most of us, I’ve failed at keeping the resolutions by the middle of January. Some estimates say more than 40% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, but only a tiny fraction of us actually keep them.

I asked my Millennial daughter if she had made any resolutions for 2018. She responded “I can’t think of anything”. Good answer. Maybe that’s the way to go. Why even do it?

Experts say it’s more sensible to set small attainable goals throughout the year, rather than a singular overwhelming goal. Experts also recommend that you go public with your goals, and share with friends and family. It keeps us accountable, especially in this era of social media.

This year, I’ve decided to be more thoughtful about my resolutions. While losing weight is still a goal, I’m not going to look at it as a resolution. I’ve decided to look outside myself in setting a few resolutions. I going to have more live conversations in this era where it’s easier to text or tweet; I’m going to add another day to my volunteer work schedule; and lastly, a self-improvement resolution – I’m going to learn how to play the piano. Check back with me in a year, especially on the playing the piano thing!

Did you make New Year’s resolutions this year? Will you succeed this time?

4 Replies to “Do You Still Make New Year’s Resolutions?”

This is my Golden Birthday year and at the strike of midnight I said “start living for your happiness Melanie”. So no resolutions for me. If it makes me happy, I’m doing IT! More spontaneous trips, snuggle up and read more, pay IT forward more (my time, money or a kind word), are just a few things that make me happy.

I am not one for New Year’s resolutions, but I am a goal setter. I have had 3 goals for the last 20 years. One, I wanted my sons to graduate college, second, I wanted a granddaughter and lastly, I wanted to see my 60th birthday. Check, check and check. It’s clear that I now need new goals. I didn’t make a resolution. However, I’m promising myself to keep an open mind as I embark on a new journey in life and allow my new goals to develop.